It is well known that bathtubs and shower stalls are slippery and present a great risk of injury to users standing therein, and entering or leaving the bathtub or shower stall, especially in the presence of water and soap. This is because bathtubs and shower stalls are generally made of materials, such as acrylic, cast iron porcelain, steel and polymer, etc, which do not have a high coefficient of friction with human skin. In attempts to compensate for this problem, various safety mats or safety strips are available which provide an increased resistance to slipping while standing in the bathtub or shower stall, and thus minimize the risk of slippage of a person standing thereon.
It is also known in the art to use foot massage mats which include a multiplicity of conical protrusions having rounded apexes in order to massage a user's feet, thereby stimulating the feet and enhancing blood circulation of the user.
People using a bathtub or shower stall, particularly elderly and handicapped people, sometimes require seating aids to be placed in bathtubs or shower stalls, which help to prevent the inherent risks and difficulties involved in positioning themselves on the floor of a bathtub or shower stall by permitting the user to be seated at a relatively higher position than if they were seated on the floor of the bathtub or shower stall or on a safety mat placed therein. However, the floor of bathtubs and shower stalls, particularly in the presence of water and soap is also very slippery to a seating aid such as a bath or shower bench having its legs supported on the floor of a bathtub and shower stall, and thereby presents the risk of the user slipping and falling while sitting on such a seating aid during a bath or shower.
It is also undesirable to have the seating aids stand on the bath or shower mats directly, due the stability concern. When a seating aid stands directly on a bath or shower mat, pressing forces are unevenly applied to the mat, which compromises the stable attachment of the mat on a wet and soapy floor of a bathtub or shower stall, particularly in instances of mats having a limited number of suction cups on the bottom surface thereof.
Conventional bath or shower mats present other disadvantages. For example, the thin layer construction of conventional bath or shower mats does not allow frequent machine washing and thus mildew and bacteria may grow on these mats over time.
Therefore, there is a need for a safety apparatus overcoming the disadvantages of the conventional mat in order to provide comfortable and safe conditions for users during a bath or shower.